Stolen Breath
by Cinaed Born Of Fire
Summary: A mysterious figure watches one of our beloved Dragon Ball Z friends, hidden and proclaiming silently to his or herself as our hero's protector. But who is this person, and what does he or she want? Shounen ai. (*Chapter Six Up* UPDATED!)
1. Stolen Breath Prologue

(Author's Notes: This is the story of someone who must find himself before he can find his true   
love. And if he cannot, both of them are doomed, though their plight has not been made aware to   
them yet. This is from a mystery person's POV during the first chapter- well, all of the chapters,   
but you all are smart, you'll probably figure out who this person is, and who he's watching. Well,   
I tell you who he's watching at the end of the chapter- don't cheat! Sorry it's short. The first   
chapter will be longer. I promise. This was just the prologue.  
  
Disclaimers: All of this characters, unless stated otherwise, belong to Toriyama, creator of DBZ.   
I will only repeat this in this author's note. Thanks.  
  
A warning, which I will type in uppercase letters so you cannot say you weren't   
forewarned, or missed it.  
  
WARNING. THIS STORY CONTAINS GRAPHIC YAOI. YAOI IS MALE/MALE   
SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS. LONG AND SHORT, THERE WILL BE GAY GUYS   
KISSING IN THIS STORY. AND MAYBE MORE, DEPENDING ON THE WAY THE   
STORY GOES. AKA, THERE MAY BE SEX IN THIS STORY, GUY/GUY.  
  
IF YOU DO NOT ENJOY READING YAOI STORIES, OR IT IS AGAINST YOUR   
RELIGION, PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS STORY. THANK YOU FOR   
LISTENING. REMEMBER: YAOI IS MALE/MALE SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS.   
  
Also, if there is a signal that says, oh, let's say:  
)) GOKU ((  
that means that it has changed to Goku's POV. Understood? When it does:  
)) ... ((   
it has changed back to the "mystery man". Okie dokie. Any confusion over that, just tell me in   
your review and I'll try to explain it. Thanks.   
  
Good bye, and please enjoy. Thank you.)  
  
  
Stolen Breath  
  
Prologue: Those Eyes  
  
Those eyes... They're so much more different than my own. His are filled with innocence, purity,   
hope, faith, love ... while mine are filled with my arrogance, my hatred, my sin, my foolishness,   
my impurity...  
  
They are filled with shadows of the past.   
  
Within the depths of my eyes are the shadows of my downfall.  
  
But His eyes. Those blue, blue eyes, so shining, so clear, so pure. I know my own eyes are the   
same color, but His hold a spark within them, a smoldering, azure fire ready to ignite for true,   
heroic reasons.   
  
Even as my mind is filled with thoughts of those iridescent orbs, I sigh, knowing I can never   
look into those eyes directly, without flinching. If those eyes should ever catch mine, I oddly   
feel that He would be able to peer into my very soul. And if He saw within my heart, He would   
loathe me.   
  
And I would die.  
  
So I hide in the shadows, so much like the darkness that lurks in my eyes, mind, and core. I keep   
out of sight, and out of mind of those who would befriend me.   
  
Those who might even care for me someday.   
  
My thoughts are interrupted as the owner of those breath-stealing eyes exits His school. West   
City High School, to be precise. I melt into the shadows of the building across from the house   
of learning, hoping He didn't spot me.   
  
He didn't.   
  
I watch Him as He consorts with His companions, both of whom I recognize from the past.   
  
Why must He always be with the ones who help fuel my pain?  
  
The girl who I should have been as close as an older brother to.  
The boy whose family saved my life time and time again.  
  
I shake my head, trying to push away the memories that try to rise to my eyelids, which I have   
closed almost unconsciously. But I cannot help but open them to see what He is doing.   
  
At the moment my eyelids flutter open, He throws back His head in laughter, the lavender strands   
of His mane rising briefly off His forehead.   
  
Such a perfect picture of happiness.   
  
I store the picture away into my memory, to cherish when I am alone.  
  
As I often am. Even my close companion has at last left, off to seek a monastery another of our   
past told him of. How long as it been since my last friend vanished? Seven years? Curse them both.   
  
Curse them all.   
  
Even as I long for the past to be different, I watch as He climbs into an expensive-looking car   
and speeds off, his two friends barely managing to jump into the backseats before He tears out of   
the parking lot. I can hear their angry yells even as they disappear around the curve. Out of my   
view.   
  
My smile of amusement fading, I turn and walk away from the school, uncaring of those who might   
see me. Contrary to that some who might find out of my watching might call me a stalker; I do not   
fit that definition.   
  
A stalker is someone who tracks prey or quarry. He is not my prey, nor quarry. I could never hunt   
Him. Or hurt Him either.   
  
Which is why I watch. If anyone should try to harm any of His friends, I will protect them.   
  
For Him.  
  
The one I love.   
  
Trunks. 


	2. Chapter One: Soulless

(Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews for the first chapter- flame or not. I will continue to   
write this story, no matter what anyone says. Thanks. I will repeat the warning in every single   
chapter, just to make certain that people actually understand.   
  
WARNING. THIS STORY CONTAINS GRAPHIC YAOI. YAOI IS MALE/MALE   
SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS. LONG AND SHORT, THERE WILL BE GAY GUYS   
KISSING IN THIS STORY. AND MAYBE MORE, DEPENDING ON THE WAY THE   
STORY GOES. AKA, THERE MAY BE SEX IN THIS STORY, GUY/GUY.  
  
IF YOU DO NOT ENJOY READING YAOI STORIES, OR IT IS AGAINST YOUR   
RELIGION, PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS STORY. THANK YOU FOR   
LISTENING. REMEMBER: YAOI IS MALE/MALE SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS.   
  
Also, if there is a signal that says, oh, let's say:  
)) GOKU ((  
That means that it has changed to Goku's POV. Understood? When it does:  
)) ... ((   
it has changed back to the "mystery man."  
  
Thank you for your time, good bye, and please enjoy!)  
  
  
Stolen Breath  
  
Chapter One: Soulless  
  
Another day, another moment of ecstasy for me as I spy Him in the crowd of students that flee the   
high school on this warm, lovely Friday morning. The light blue jacket He wears matches His eyes   
perfectly, making their sapphire orbs even lovelier as they shine with happiness.   
  
Once more, as it often is, my breath escapes me in one swift exhale as I watch Him.   
  
The boy I dare not approach. The boy who was all that I was not. The boy of my dreams.  
  
And of my nightmares.   
  
I take in a new lungful of air, and watch Him until he leaves once more, escaping from the humid   
afternoon's heat back into the air conditioned building that He learns at. I sigh as He   
disappears from my view, and wish my sigh didn't sound so forlorn and needy.   
  
I can't have Him, ever. I'm merely here to protect Him. One such as He should never feel pain.   
  
And that's why I was created.   
  
My own words seem to slap my cheek, and the memories surge, blinding me. I slump to the ground,   
barely aware of the hot brick against my back, or the concerned looks passerby were giving me.   
  
Created, but by whom?   
  
A twisted old man bent on destroying the world because a little boy had defeated him many, many   
years before.   
  
Created by a madman.   
  
Who was to say I even have a soul? When I had been absorbed- how long has it been? - Fifteen,   
sixteen years? - I had been in utter, complete darkness, unable to get out.   
  
Trapped in my own private hell forever.   
  
Then the wish upon the Dragon Balls had been made, I was back on Earth, back to the colors and   
sights and sounds of living. Back to a place where I could dream of the hell I had barely escaped   
from.   
  
And now it is almost twenty years later, and I am still trapped in my own little hell.   
  
But at least now I have an angel to look at. His beauty will keep me going, and when I do die, I   
will be able to conjure His face for my eternity in Hell.   
  
At least I would have His memory, forever.   
  
And Hell I would go, for those without souls always went there.  
  
And I have no soul.   
  
The memories of the hell I had spent so many days, but what seemed thousands of years, in,   
overwhelm me at the same time my revelation does, and my skull nearly explodes from the images of  
utter, complete darkness.   
  
I clutch with trembling hands at my forehead, feeling my ice-cold fingers dig painfully into my   
skin, trying to divert my mind from memories to thoughts of pain.   
  
Anything but the memories.   
  
But they keep coming, taunting me with my own past despair. The shame of having no soul, no   
promise of heaven after death, only Hell, engulfs me, and I shudder, my lips forming a silent   
plea, speaking for the first time in ages.   
  
Stop.  
  
I am surprised at how hoarse my voice is now. So unlike the loud, tenor, arrogant voice I had   
those many years before.  
  
Before my death taught me differently.  
  
My grip on my skull tightens until I feel the sharp pain of fingernails slashing through flesh. I   
focus on the pain, almost an offering to my mind, which torments me still.   
  
Why have a mind when you have no soul? Why be tortured some more? Isn't an eternity in Hell good   
enough suffering?  
  
Apparently not.   
  
I feel something warm trickling down my forehead, and am faintly aware that it is most likely   
blood.  
  
Another torment, for why have blood if you are not truly of flesh and spirit?  
  
Vampires have no souls, and they don't bleed.  
  
So why should I?  
  
Gradually I become aware of someone's shouts for an ambulance, a police car, anything. I ignore   
the cries, and focus on the main.   
  
Pain.  
  
Soulless.   
  
Pain.   
  
Soulless.  
  
Pain.  
  
Soulless-  
  
As if annoyed with my mind ongoing argument, the pain in my head increases to agony. My head is   
exploding, my body is burning, the blood is trickling down my forehead, I am going to crush my   
own skull in by accident, and prove to myself completely that I have no soul-   
  
Weak, but determined hands wrench my hands from my temple. My grip resists slowly, gouging as my   
fingers are pried from my flesh, drawing extra blood and adding more wounds as they are lifted   
from my brow.   
  
"It's okay!" The person who holds my hands tightly is saying all the while he or she is   
doing this. "You're ill. Just take it easy and don't speak. Someone's gone to get you some water,   
sir."  
  
It was then I am aware that I am crying out names that I haven't spoken in years. Names that   
burn my tongue with the sorrow they carry as they flow from my lips.  
  
Juhachi.   
Marron.   
Krillin.   
Juroku.   
  
My sister.   
My niece.  
My brother-in-law.  
My friend.   
  
For I, the only one of the three of Dr. Gero's final creations who was without a soul was once   
called Juunana.   
  
Seventeen.   
  
Despite my captor's reassurances, I bow my head and weep as an ambulance's siren begins to keen   
in the distance.   
  
)) TRUNKS ((  
  
I step out of the white piled hallway that leads to the stone walkway of my school just in time   
to see and hear a wailing ambulance speed away.  
  
"Who was hurt?" The words flow unchecked from my lips. Marron and Goten glance at each   
other uneasily, and they both shrug.   
  
"Some wacko who was trying to claw his brains out or something. He kept screaming   
something that I couldn't quite catch," Goten says to me, his eyes dark with the horrible memory.   
"They took him to the hospital." I shrug also, but a strange unease presses down on my chest,   
making me have to catch my breath.  
  
"Did you hear what he was yelling?" Marron shook her head, sending golden curls   
everywhere.   
  
"Some police officer had to pry his hands loose. He was bleeding all over the place," was   
her soft reply, her face ashen from recalling the fact. Goten noticed the pale tone to his   
friend's face, and quickly motions for me to get the car.   
  
I obey, fairly flying over the burning black pavement. For some reason I feel a strange panic   
clawing its way up from my chest to my brain, coursing through my very veins. Trying to ignore   
the sensation, I turn on my car, and drive it to where Goten and Marron are waiting, arm in arm.   
  
I smile as I park next to them, thinking not for the first time that I really should get those   
two together. Their colorings are opposite as night and day, meaning they look perfect together.  
  
Which leaves only me to figure out.   
  
I leap from the car to help Goten as he leads a still pallid Marron to the car. As Marron buckles   
up in the backseat, I notice concerned looks her way, and smile reassuringly. She just needs to   
get home, away from the scene where some maniac just tried to kill himself.   
  
Maniac.   
  
The sudden rage that I feel at the word catches me by surprise, and I stumble while heading   
towards the front seat. My hands shoot out to catch me, but miss the door handle, instead gouging   
deep scratches down my beautiful crimson Jaguar. I freeze, unable to protect my face as I   
continue to fall. My car.  
  
The car is colored crimson, the same color as blood.  
  
"Trunks!" Goten cries in warning, but it was too late. My eyes focus on the black   
pavement a mere second before my head connects with it, accompanied by a loud crack.   
  
A brief flash of agony pierces me through, and then there was only darkness and painlessness. 


	3. Chapter Two: Diagnosis

(Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews. I will continue to write this story, no matter what anyone says. Thanks. I will repeat the warning in every single chapter, just to make certain that people actually understand.   
  
WARNING. THIS STORY CONTAINS GRAPHIC YAOI. YAOI IS MALE/MALE   
SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS. LONG AND SHORT, THERE WILL BE GAY GUYS   
KISSING IN THIS STORY. AND MAYBE MORE, DEPENDING ON THE WAY THE   
STORY GOES. AKA, THERE MAY BE SEX IN THIS STORY, GUY/GUY.  
  
IF YOU DO NOT ENJOY READING YAOI STORIES, OR IT IS AGAINST YOUR   
RELIGION, PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS STORY. THANK YOU FOR   
LISTENING. REMEMBER: YAOI IS MALE/MALE SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS.   
  
Also, if there is a signal that says, oh, let's say:  
)) TRUNKS ((  
That means that it has changed to Trunks's POV. Understood? When it does:  
)) JUUNANA ((   
it has changed back to our main character...  
  
Thank you for your time, good bye, and please enjoy!)  
  
Stolen Breath  
  
Chapter Two: Diagnosis  
  
I wake slowly, feeling the ache in my head pounding a rhythmic beat against the inside of my skull. Groaning at the pain, I attempt to open my eyes, and find that they are, amazingly, too heavy to lift.  
  
After a few seconds of failed attempts, I give up and concentrate on my other senses.   
  
It smells like a hospital.   
I am in a bed with a soft blanket over top of me.   
My mouth is dry and parched.   
I can hear the beeping of machines and the soft breathing of someone dreaming nearby.  
  
Someone close by. My eyes fly open, suddenly no longer cumbersome, and I attempt to sit up and view the other inhabitant of the room, ignoring the pounding of my brain against my skull and the dizziness my movements cause me.   
  
Damn. There's a barrier blocking the other person from me.   
  
I move to climb out of bed, noticing the IV only after it was ripped from my flesh. I hiss at the pain, watching scarlet blood well up and drip down my arm.   
  
More injury to myself.  
  
Although, as I think about it, who really cared?   
  
No one, that's who... No one at all.   
  
"Who's there?" The voice catches me unaware, and I blink, promptly forgetting the throbbing in my arms and head.   
  
"Who's there?" repeats the voice. This time I am frozen, entranced by the sound.   
  
It's Him...  
  
I find my voice at least, and reply. "J-Jay." Or rather, J for Juunana. My lips twist in a bitter smile at the joke. Why use the name my sister used to call me by? It isn't like she's around to apply it...  
  
"I'm Trunks." I savor the words that He speaks. Then, realization dawns...   
  
Trunks was hurt.  
  
"How did you get hurt?" Anxiety makes my voice rise slightly, and I go mute, praying He doesn't notice.   
  
He doesn't, luckily for me, and merely speaks, answering my question.   
  
"It's kind of stupid, actually," He commented with an embarrassed laugh. "I was walking to my car, and fell. I think I hit my head on the pavement. The doctors say I have a concussion." I calm slightly. The doctors can easily take care of his wound, then. "How about you?"   
  
I don't know, and tell him so.  
  
"Well, I think there's a clipboard at the end of your bed that tells you what the diagnosis is," comments the one I watch over.   
  
It is only then that the memories flood my system, locking me once more in place.  
  
When I don't reply, Trunks repeats the sentence, sounding slightly puzzled.   
  
I don't respond to that either, but He persists.   
  
"Jay? Are you all right?" He asks me, His own voice raised in concern for me.   
  
For someone He doesn't even know.  
  
"I-I'm fine," I manage to choke out, shaking myself from my frozen state. I move from my half crouch on the bed, gingerly holding my arm to keep the crimson liquid from dotting the white linen that I rest on. Half crawling, I reached blindly over the end of the bed, my trembling hand grazing the cold metal before finding the clipboard He had spoken of. My hands shaking from exertion, feeling oddly weak, I lift the clipboard to read the words silently to myself.   
  
Dehydration.   
Fever of 103.   
Starvation.  
Injuries to head.  
  
I bark a laugh.   
  
"What's so funny?" Trunks wants to know. "Did you find out what's wrong with you?" I shrug, and then recall He can't see me through the curtain.   
  
"I'm fucking messed up, Trunks."  
  
"Why?" He is surprised, and worried.   
  
"Too many things to name," I reply, suddenly exhausted. "Listen, if anyone, nurse or not, comes to visit you, tell them I'm asleep, all right, kid?" The word is out before I can help it. Even as He begins His objections, I sink back onto the bed, this time unable to help the blood that spills onto the sheets. My limbs are numb, unresponsive as they curl me into a ball, my head slightly tilted to listen to His words.  
  
My heavy eyelids closing, I fall asleep to the murmur of Trunks's wonderful voice.  
  
)) TRUNKS ((  
  
"Kid?" I demand indignantly. "How old are you?"  
  
No reply. Then I recall his words, and settle down, promising to question him about his age once he wakes up.  
  
And figure out what's wrong with him.   
  
'Fucking messed up,' he had said, in a kind of an amused tone of voice.   
  
How?   
  
My thoughts are interrupted by a knock on the door to our hospital room. I half rise before remembering my concussion, the pain temporarily lodging me in place and my eyes to tear.   
  
"Hello?" I call through the hurting of my cranium.  
  
"Trunks?" It's Goten, his intonation anxious. Another voice comes to my ears.   
  
"Trunks? Are you there? It's Marron and Goten."   
  
I blink through the haze of pain until my vision is clear, and then at last respond. "Come in." Recalling the tiredness in Jay's voice, I quick attach the sentences, "But be quiet. My roommate is sleeping." My two best friends slip through the door as it opens, both looking troubled. I summon a smile onto my face in hopes to reassure them.   
  
"Are you all right?" Goten quickly asks, looking relieved at my grin. With the hand that is free of the IV, I dismiss the idea of being hurt, although my pounding head lingers on the fact once more. I glance over at the curtain, hoping that my friends hadn't woken him.   
  
Since there is no movement behind the barrier, I assume he's still sleeping.   
  
Catching my glance, Marron questions, "Who's the person on the other side?"   
  
I shrug, and then give them the only answer he had given me. "His name's Jay."   
Goten and Marron both raise eyebrows. "And?" is their reply.   
  
I smirk slightly. "And he's sound asleep, so keep your voices down." Obediently they obey, lowering their voices to whispers that scarcely reach my ears.   
  
I roll my eyes, but decide not to comment on it.   
  
)) JUUNANA ((  
  
Why are they are here? The desperate question resounds through my mind as I awaken to listen to the familiar voices of my niece and Son Goten. Suddenly their words quiet to soft murmurings. After a moment or so, I give up on trying to listen.   
  
Instead, I look for a place to hide.   
  
At first, staying as quiet as possible, still bleeding from my arm, I attempt to stand and move to secrete myself inside the bathroom. The overwhelming dizziness that nearly causes me to pass out quickly vetoes that idea. Once my head clears, I slowly lower myself to the floor, being as silent as a panther. Pressing my cheek against the cold tile for a moment, I stop to catch my breath, and hear Him.  
  
He laughs, and declares, "Come on, Mar-chan! Goten! I'm perfectly fine."   
  
His words warm my heart, and I smile for a brief second before rolling under the bed to hide. Now, if they peek through the curtains, they won't be able to see me.   
  
Which is exactly as I want it.   
  
Closing my eyes to darkness, I try to listen to Trunks's conversation, to simply hear His voice.   
  
Luckily for me, he speaks rather loudly.   
  
And I am content with that.   
  
)) TRUNKS ((  
  
Just as Marron opens her mouth to speak, one of the nurses bustles in, all bright-eyed and cheerful. She smiles at my visitors and me before moving to check my temperature and the IV container.   
  
"Remind me to refill your IV during my next visit, all right, dearie?" she asks me. I smile and nod, inwardly wincing. I loathe being called dearie.   
  
"Say, ma'am, what's wrong with the sleeping fellow over there?" Goten pipes up, jerking his thumb towards the curtain. I scowl at him, but he doesn't notice, too busy awaiting the nurse's answer.   
  
"Oh, he's a mess, but his injuries are confidential, I'm afraid," the nurse replies cheerily, smiling back at the Son. Goten grins, and questions if Jay had a concussion too.   
  
"Jay?" The nurse looks puzzled.   
  
"That's what he said his name was," I inform her, nodding in the direction of Jay. The movement hurts my head, and I wince.   
  
"We didn't know his name and don't move your head," was her quick reply, noticing the grimace. I comply with her orders, settling down. "Actually, Mr.- Jay, wasn't it? - Isn't even supposed to be in this wing of the hospital. Unfortunately we're rather crowded at the moment, and this was the only place we would put him." With another smile towards us, she bounces off to the other side of the room, slipping through the curtain before I can catch a glimpse of my roommate.   
  
Oh well. I'd come and visit him later.   
  
There was silence for a moment or two, and then the nurse asked with gentle concern, "Excuse me, sir, but why exactly are you under the bed?"   
  
Goten and Marron both raise eyebrows as I frown, wondering what exactly was wrong with Jay.   
  
)) JUUNANA ((  
  
I open my eyes to peer into twinkling hazel ones. Instantly, my old, comfortable scowl is in place, and I do what I do best.   
  
Glower.   
  
"That, ma'am, is none of your business," I state icily as she drags me from beneath the bed and pushes me onto the sheets.   
  
"And look, you've torn the IV from your arm." She continues to scold me as she sterilizes the IV needle and reinserts it. I keep my face expressionless at the prick.   
  
"Leave me alone," I order her once she is finished checking my temperature. The nurse chuckles as if my words amuse her.   
  
"I think you need to sleep on top of the bed, Mr. Jay," she informs me cheerily as she covers me with the blanket.   
  
I glare in return, and retort angrily, my voice gaining strength as I speak more and more words, "Perhaps the floor is more comfortable than this horrible bed. Now leave me alone, woman!"  
  
With a condescending smile directed towards me, the nurse nods and leaves me alone.   
  
Well, mostly alone.   
  
"Jay? You all right?" comes His call.   
  
"I-I'm fine, Trunks." My voice is suddenly weak again, and my entire body aches, my head most of all. "Just let me sleep, okay, kid?"   
  
"Don't call me kid!" is the last thing I hear before I drift off to slumber once more.   



	4. Chapter Three: Blindness

(Author Notes: I have no idea what came into me during the chapter… I apologize for its weirdness

(Author Notes: I have no idea what came into me during the chapter… I apologize for its weirdness. You'll understand what's wrong by the end, and I'll explain why it happened next chapter. Remember, it makes yaoi (and yuri, and straight) authors happy when you review! Enjoy!)

Stolen Breath

Chapter Three: Blindness

I awake from a dreamless sleep, smiling faintly as I wake. No nightmare this time. I stretch, sighing with contentment as the memories of the day come flooding back to me. Hell, who cares if I'm in a hospital? Neither Marron nor Goten saw me, and I'm becoming friends with Him…

"Jay, you awake?" I jump slightly on my warm bed, before realizing who had spoken. 

"Yeah," is my reply as I slowly open my eyes. For some reason, my eyes can't seem to focus that well. I blink rapidly until my eyes adjust to the dim hospital room, taking longer than normal. Oh well. I do have a head trauma after all. 

"Say, I've got a bone to pick with you." I raise an eyebrow. 

"A bone to pick with you? Nice phrase. American?" My contempt for them is audible in my sneer. "How about, I've got something I want to talk to you about?" The slight, friendly tease flows from my lips, and I half-smile. 

Joking with Trunks… 

"Whatever," Trunks says, but I can tell he's smiling. "Anyway, how old are you?"

I frown slightly, calculating in my head. Let's see, I was eighteen when I became an android with Juhachi. Trunks was seventeen right now and was just born when I became an android, and that means I'm around thirty-five. Damn. 

But I still look around eighteen, for I haven't aged, as Juhachi and Juroku have. After all, they are more human than me. Oh well.

"Would you believe if I said I was thirty-five but looked like I was eighteen?" 

"No."

"Fine then, I'm eighteen."

"That's only a year older than me!" Trunks declares. "Now you can't call me kid!" I snort in amusement. 

"Why not? I'm more mature than you," I conclude. 

"You are not!" 

"Are too!" I quickly counter. Trunks doesn't seem to have any reply other than dissolve into laughter. After a pause, I do too, barely recognizing the unfamiliar sound that comes from my throat. 

I haven't laughed in so long. 

Trunks tells me all about His best friends, Marron and Goten. I listen with a smile as He unknowingly describes my niece to me, praising them both over and over again. 

When He finishes, He questions suddenly, "How about you? What are your friends like?" The smile on my face fades. 

"I don't have any friends," is my quiet reply. Before I can listen to any of his protests, I collapse back onto my pillow. I am asleep before my head hits the pillow.

)) TRUNKS ((

How could a nice guy like Jay not have any friends? I recall his angry words towards the 'dearie' nurse (as I have nicknamed her), and smile wryly. Although he does have a temper. 

Relaxing onto my own pillow, I fall into a light doze.

But not before promising to find out more about my newest friend Jay. 

)) JUUNANA ((

_~-~ I am lost again. Lost in the darkness. There is no sound, only silence. No sensations. _

_ _

_Wait, I take that back. There is a single sensation that causes my dream body, of which I cannot see, quake and tremble._

_ _

_I am freezing. _

_ _

_I struggle to move, knowing it's hopeless, knowing I'm trapped within the endless night for always. _

_ _

_Perhaps I'll be able to hear my own scream._

_ _

_And so I howl into the ice and blinding blackness, finding my nightmare shape to have lips to wail._

_ _

_Howl a single name that I cling to. Howl a single plea to save me. Howl a single prayer to just let me die and go to Hell, which would be better than this… _

_ _

_Then, for the first time, the darkness begins to shift. I stare in a mixture of shock and wonder, as the darkness seems to clear slightly. Hopeful, I await my savior._

_ _

_The darkness alters its covering slowly to reveal…_

_ _

_Yet more night, which is even darker than the first. This is the color of oblivion, of emptiness. _

_ _

_My true fate._

_ _

_Unexpectedly, the thought calms my dream mind, and the wails die on my lips as the nothingness creeps through the darkness towards me. _

_ _

_This oblivion would take away all the pain. Forever more. _

_ _

_Unconsciously, my dream form, which has suddenly taken shape, steps forward to embrace the void that beckons me. _

_ _

_Take away my pain, are the words I cry. Take me to a Hell that has no pain, no sorrow, no…_

_ _

_Anything. _

_ _

_The word jolts me, and I falter in my steps towards nothingness. Anything would mean no Trunks…_

_ _

_The oblivion seems to sense my hesitation, and grows angry and even, impossibly darker, seeming to drag me forward._

_ _

_As before, I scream for Trunks, for anyone, for Kami himself to save me. _

_ _

_The only reply is harsh, cruel laughter as I attempt one final, futile time to pull myself from the void's now chilling grasp. My scream dies on my lips once more as I fall into oblivion- ~-~_

_ _

I rouse to hear the moniker of Jay cried in my ears. My eyes fly open, and I am blind, the darkness taking my sight with it along with the dream. Panicked, I clutch at the sweat-soaked blankets, feeling perspiration running down my face as I struggle to catch my breath. 

"Jay!" The name is repeated as the same person cries it once more, the word filling my ears amid the pounding of my own heart. 

Jay. My name. 

"W-what?" I shakily gasp out, trying to gather enough precious oxygen to actually fill my lungs.

"Are you okay?" the voice asks in concern, a warm and real hand pressing gently down on my shoulder. I close my eyes, trying to pretend that when I open my eyes I will be able to see. 

"I can't see…" I whisper frantically to the person whose hand is on my flesh. "When I open my eyes, I can't see." 

"Try opening your eyes again," the person worriedly suggests, and then I recognize the voice.

Trunks. 

Obeying, I crack open my eyes, and peer into only darkness. The darkness that threatens to seep into through my eyes and dissolve my world into nothingness-

Choking back a scream of frustration, I jerk my body away from His hand, for His grip suddenly burns my skin. 

"Don't touch me!" I cry out, though the rest of me only wishes to be held by Him…

But I don't deserve Him. Not now, not ever. Oblivion had seen to that. 

Now I can't even protect Him. Even as a friend…

And if I can't, then what's the use of even living?

Curling away from Trunks's worried questions, I open my eyes wide until it hurts, and wait for the nothingness to take me away. 

)) TRUNKS ((

Jay turns from me, his eyes suddenly blank and staring. It's as if the fire that burned within his azure gaze has been abruptly doused. 

"Jay." His name exits my mouth breathlessly. The vacant, frightening expression on his ashen face doesn't change. "Jay!"

Nothing. 

My own cry of aggravation escaping me, I act on instinct. Marron and Goten have long since left, and the 'dearie' nurse is nowhere in sight. 

My arm rises over my head, and then it's open palm against Jay's smooth cheek. 

The sound of flesh hitting flesh is all I can hear for a moment, then, slowly, hesitatingly, Jay blinks, a dim light burning in those bright blue orbs. A dulled brightness, but nevertheless a brightness. 

As he slowly shakes his head, gaining control of his body, I study him. 

The nurse had spoken during her last visit that they had had to wash his half-conscious, delirious form when he had arrived at the hospital. His hair, the color of lustrous obsidian, had been parted in the middle by the nurses, and flows to his shoulders, when not pushed away from his face from the white bandages that cover his forehead. His eyes, which now fill with alarm and disorientation and an odd blankness that partially hides the two emotions, are a stunning, remarkable cobalt azure. Despite the gauntness that precedes one who hasn't eaten in many days, I could still see the graceful movements in his body as he turns that declares him someone who knows martial arts.

"Jay," I say, trying to ignore the crimson mark on his face that my own hand caused, "everything will be all right. The doctors will know what to do about your eyes. Just calm down." With that, my hand creeps to his control panel, and I rapidly press the panic button. 

Ah, the irony. Telling him not to be frightened while I press the panic button.

)) JUUNANA ((

"That's you, Trunks. Right?" I question, trying not to go to pieces once more. 

If Trunks didn't want me to die, I wouldn't…

Not if He wants me to live. 

"It's me, Jay. Do you need anything?" His voice is gentle, and once more it's hard to catch my breath. If only I could see the expression on His face… To see His smile… I recall His question, and realize that I have a raging thirst.

"I-I'm quite thirsty," I admit. There's a pause, then I hear the sound of pouring water. Then an object is pressed into my hand, and I instinctively hold onto it. A glass of water.

"Thank you." My gratitude is quiet as I, after a few moments of confusion, press the glass to my lips, and drink. My limbs still feel oddly heavy, as if Oblivion tugs as me even as I am in the land of the living and reality.

"The doctors will be hear any second now," says Trunks softly. His words are followed by the sound of pounding feet, and a door- presumably our door- is flung open with a loud crash. 

"What is it?" comes another memorable voice, and instinctively I react, dropping the glass to shield my face from another member of the past. 

)) TRUNKS ((

"Jay!" I exclaim as I lean forward to catch the glass with Saiya-jinn speed before it can spill onto his already soaked bedspread. Jay doesn't reply, shaking uncontrollably, his hands and tresses hiding his face from my view. 

"Trunks, what's wrong?" asks our guest, looking slightly stricken as he adjusts his thick-rimmed glasses. "I was heading here to check on you, and I heard a doctor say something about an emergency call for your room. I came as fast as I can." 

"Something's wrong with his eyes," I said, motioning rather helplessly towards my shuddering friend.

Friend. I've only known him for less than a day, we've hardly spoken to each other, and already I'm calling him a friend?

"Trunks, I don't want anyone to see me." Jay suddenly speaks, his voice trembling but determined. "Please go away." I cross my arms stubbornly. 

"No," is my flat reply.

"Yes," Jay insists, while our guest looks on in puzzlement. 

)) JUUNANA ((

"No," Trunks repeats stubbornly, and I shake my head, ignoring the dizziness the motion causes me. I can't tell where He is anymore, or the other man. 

Even from his voice, I can tell how much he's grown since I last saw him. Of course, that was nearly two decades ago. 

"Please," I say once more. Does He really want me to beg?

Of course, He doesn't know that his friend and I have met, on a battlefield long, long ago. 

"Jay," He says, and this time there is puzzlement in His voice. "Why not?" I stare blankly into darkness, trying hard not to laugh.

"Why not, Trunks? I already told you, I'm fucked up. I've got a fever of 103, probably higher by now; I'm dehydrated; I'm starved; my head feels like it's wrapped so tight that it's about to burst; and now I'm fucking blind! Would you want anyone to see you, stranger or not, if you were like that?"

Trunks is silent. 

)) TRUNKS ((

Well, what the hell am I supposed to say to that? I look over towards our- my guest, but he looks at a loss. 

"Jay, the doctors will fix your eyes." My attempt at calming him fails as he bitterly laughs, shaking his head from side to side, still covering it. 

"J-just go over to your side of the room and pull the curtain so that it's blocking me, will you?" he says, sounding suddenly exhausted. Apparently he doesn't realize that the curtain is already in that position. 

"All right," I say quietly, complying and leaving Jay in a shaking ball on his bed. 

The doctors will know what to do. 

They have to. 

Or I will have to definitely kick their ass. 

Whoa, calm down. Why am I so protective of someone I just met? All he did was listen to me babble about my best friends. 

It is then I hear my guest repeat my name. He sounds concerned. 

"Yes?" I state, turning to him. 

"Are you okay?" he questions, and I sigh. Why does no one believe me?

"I'm fine. All I have is a concussion," I inform him. 

Noticing my sigh, my older friend shrugs. "Sorry. Goten and Marron still seemed worried-"

"After I told them I was all right over twenty times?" I manage a small grin at my friends' concern. 

"Yes," is his amused reply. I smirk, as does he. 

Now, at last, the doctors arrive, and my guest is swept away by the worried crowd. 

"Bye Trunks!" he calls, waving to me with a grin. 

"Bye Gohan!" I call, and then he is gone, and I am left alone.

Alone with Jay and so many doctors…


	5. Chapter Four: Fever

(A warning, which I will type in uppercase letters so you cannot say you weren't forewarned, or missed it.  
  
WARNING. THIS STORY CONTAINS GRAPHIC YAOI. YAOI IS MALE/MALE SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS. LONG AND SHORT, THERE WILL BE GAY GUYS KISSING IN THIS STORY. AND MAYBE MORE, DEPENDING ON THE WAY THE STORY GOES. AKA, THERE MAY BE SEX IN THIS STORY, GUY/GUY.  
  
IF YOU DO NOT ENJOY READING YAOI STORIES, OR IT IS AGAINST YOUR RELIGION, PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS STORY. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING. REMEMBER: YAOI IS MALE/MALE SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS.  
  
Also, if there is a signal that says:  
  
)) TRUNKS ((  
  
that means that it has changed to Trunks's POV. Understood? When it does:  
  
)) JUUNANA ((  
  
it has changed back to our main man. Okie dokie. Any confusion over that, just tell me in your review and I'll try to explain it. Thanks.  
  
Good bye, and please enjoy. Thank you.)  
  
Stolen Breath  
  
Chapter Four: Fever  
  
The doctors are all idiots who have no clue what they're doing. I realize this within five minutes of their inane babble as they all cluster around me. They're giving me a headache, but I endure it for a few more minutes before I recognize that they're not doing anything but talking. Unable to help it, I snap.  
  
"What the hell is wrong with my eyes?" The doctors all go mute, and for a second I'm almost content with the silence as it fills the room.  
  
"We, uh, believe that the injuries to your head may have caused the blindness-"  
  
"-may have caused?" I smoothly cut in, my voice cold enough to silence him. "That's seems obvious enough. What I want to know is.is it permanent?" Silence, but the type of silence this time that causes me to shift in my seat uncomfortably. "Well, is it?"  
  
"We.don't know," admits one of the doctors at last, and I snap once more.  
  
"What the kind of damn doctors are you?!" I can hear several doctors take a step back at my shriek. "Get out until you figure out what the hell is wrong!" I can tell they're not moving. "Get the hell out of the room." At last I hear their shoes slapping the tiled floor, moving away from my bed and towards the door. The sound of the door opening, the doctors filing out, the door closing, and then everything's hush once more. I allow myself to collapse back, burying myself in the softness that is my bed. Maybe if I close my eyes and fall asleep, this will all be another nightmare..  
  
"Jay?" For a moment I want to ignore the hesitant sound of my name, but it's Him.  
  
"Yes, Trunks?" Damn, I sound so weary when I say His name. He must think me so weak..  
  
"The doctors will figure out what's wrong with your eyes."  
  
I snort. "I'm of the opinion that those doctors can't figure out anything, much less my vision problem.."  
  
)) TRUNKS ((  
  
I can't help but chuckle a little at the other teen's words. "They may seem idiotic, but I bet a couple of them are quite smart." "Right." Jay's tone of voice informs me that he doesn't believe me, but instead is only trying to humor me. There was a long pause, and then he asks, sounding dog-tired and almost despairing, "What's going to happen to me if it's permanent?"  
  
"I'm sure there has to be physical therapy and that sort of thing for people who've lost their sight," I was quick to assure him. "You can go through that."  
  
Jay chuckles in response, but it was a sardonic sort of chuckle. "And how am I supposed to afford that? In case you can't tell, I don't even have any money for food." Recalling his gauntness, I have no choice but to believe him.  
  
"I'm sure the hospital can work something out for you," I inform him in a firm tone. "Your parents must have insurance-" The same chuckle silences me.  
  
"What parents?"  
  
)) JUUNANA ((  
  
There is silence on Trunks' side of the curtain, and immediately I am awash with the concern that I could have done something to offend Him. "Trunks?"  
  
"You don't have parents?" His tone is almost distant, and my stomach clenches.  
  
"No," is my simple reply. Then, when He doesn't respond, I hastily try for a joke. "I told you, I'm thirty-five but I look eighteen. I don't need parents."  
  
Still there is silence, and I find myself biting my lower lip. "I'm sorry.. I'll be quiet now."  
  
"Jay.." He says, but I'm already turning on my side and pulling the blanket over my head in an attempt to block Him out. If I offend Him, then I don't deserve to talk to Him. It is as simple as that.  
  
)) TRUNKS ((  
  
I call his name a second time, and receive silence for my efforts. I'm baffled. Why did he apologize? He hasn't done anything to me.. One second he's being bitter, and then next he's apologizing and being silent. Mood swings? I suppose I can understand why. After all, being blind cannot be a pleasant experience..  
  
"Jay." I try a final time, and still he remains silent. Fine, he has probably fallen back to sleep anyway. Shifting in my bed, I close my eyes to try and get some shut-eye of my own. Unfortunately, sleep eludes me, and I find myself staring into the darkness of my closed eyelids. Is this what Jay sees? No, for I can still see a faint brightness from the light above me. Against my will, I shudder. What would I do if I found myself blind? I couldn't even imagine..  
  
"Trunks!" My eyes shoot open and I sit up to find my mother has burst into the room, all teary-eyed. My father is close behind, a scowl on his face, as always. "Are you all right?!"  
  
"Of course he is, woman," my father snorts. "He's a Saiya-jinn."  
  
"You hush, Vegeta! I want to hear it from HIS mouth, not yours!" My mother's voice is loud and snappish in the room, and I can feel a headache coming on. Listening to my parents' squabble always gives me one.  
  
"Mom, I'm fine. It's just a concussion. I told Goten, Gohan, and Marron that.."  
  
"I know, they told me, but you don't look fine. You look dreadful," Bulma states before bursting into tears. "I would've come sooner, but I had a meeting that I couldn't reschedule." Behind her, my father rolls his eyes and shoots me a knowing and almost understanding smirk. Why does my mother always have to get hysterical when my father and I are hurt?  
  
"Mom," I say, my tone as gentle as I can manage. "Really, I'm fine. I'll only be in here for a day or two. Stop crying." My mother weeps for a few more minutes before managing to pull herself together.  
  
"I-I'm sorry," she whispers, brushing the tears from her cheeks. She makes no comment to the hand Vegeta lays on her shoulder, his dark eyes gazing into mine.  
  
"You'll be alright, boy?"  
  
"Of course, Father. I'll be fine. You two don't even have to stay. I'm more worried about Jay than anyone else." Both of my parents look blank.  
  
"Jay?"  
  
"My roommate," I explain, jerking a thumb towards the curtain. "He lost his eyesight today, and he's really sick, and he has no insurance or anything."  
  
Bulma tsked in sympathy, shaking her head. "The poor dear. I'm sure the doctors know how to handle that sort of situation." I realize my face betrays my disbelief only after she adds, "They must know, Trunks. In fact, I'll ask the front desk for you if you're so worried."  
  
"That'd be great," I find myself saying in such a tone of relief that my father raises an eyebrow. In reply, I simply shrug.  
  
"Come on, woman, you heard him. He's old enough to handle a hospital stay on his own," the Prince of the Saiya-jinn snorts, squeezing his wife's shoulder in a gentle manner that belies his harsh words. "Let's leave him alone."  
  
"Okay," Bulma agrees, in a reluctant tone, her eyes gazing into mine. "You'll call home if you need anything, right?"  
  
"Right." Before my mother can say another word, Vegeta drags her from the room.  
  
Sighing, I rub my forehead. Parents.  
  
)) JUUNANA ((  
  
I lay still, half-asleep as I listen to Trunks' sigh. Vegeta sounds as if he hasn't changed a bit.  
  
"They're your parents?" I call softly to Him.  
  
"Yes." For a moment, He sounds reluctant to admit it.  
  
"Your mother seems to care for you." Had my mother ever cared for us, for me and Juhachi? I suppose I'll never know.  
  
"Yes, she just cares too much, sometimes."  
  
"No one can ever care too much," I am quick to protest. He is silent for a moment.  
  
"I guess you're right. It just seems like that sometimes."  
  
I am silent, for the room's suddenly gotten very, very hot. "Did you turn off the air conditioner or something?" I'm only aware of the testy tone once I've voiced the question.  
  
"No." He sounds puzzled. "Why?"  
  
"It's hot." Feeling myself begin to perspire, I restlessly kick off my blanket, blaming it for the warmth. Still, it seems to almost get warmer. "It's really, really hot.."  
  
"The room feels fine to me." Still that puzzled tone to His voice.  
  
"It's.scorching." Beads of sweat trickle down my face now. I hear the rustling of the curtain, and now He is now on my side of the room.  
  
)) TRUNKS ((  
  
"Shit, you look like hell." The words fly from my mouth before I can think on them. I immediately want to take back the words, even if they're true.  
  
His pale face is flushed and damp, and he trembles like mad. His blanket is halfway off his bed, not covering his frame one bit, and I cannot help but see that all he's wearing is a hospital gown. For no reason, my own face warms as blood rushes to my cheeks, and for a moment I'm grateful Jay can't see me.  
  
"It's hot," he murmurs once more, and then falls silent as I press the back of my hand to his cheek, for his forehead is covered with bandages. He's burning.  
  
"You've got a fever." A small half-smile forms on his lips, and his words have an almost dreamy quality to them.  
  
"Got a fever of 103.. The clipboard said so." I bite my lower lip in anxiety.  
  
"I should call one of the doctors." Jay snorts and stays still under my hand.  
  
)) JUUNANA ((  
  
"I don't want any doctor. They don't know anything.." He's touching me. His flesh feels so nice and cool against my warm cheek, and when He moves to take His hand away, I blindly grope for His appendage. "Don't.you're so cool. Keep your hand there, please." In the farthest reaches of my mind I realize I probably shouldn't say that, but it's far too late to take the words back.  
  
"I really should get a nurse to take your temperature." His hand returns to my cheek, and I fight back a relieved sigh.  
  
"In a.minute." My hospital gown is starting to choke me, and my hands move to tug at the collar.  
  
"What're you doing?" His hand leaves my cheek, but then both of His hands are grasping mine, their coolness making me tremble.  
  
"Hard.to breathe."  
  
"Roll over." I blink into the darkness, not comprehending the words. "There are buttons on the back of your gown. I can unbutton them for you." Sweat trickling down my visage and stinging my lips, I obey, painstakingly rolling onto my stomach and burying my face into the pillow, aching for even the touch of His hand. Then I feel His hands on my gown, and my breath catches in my throat.  
  
)) TRUNKS ((  
  
I fumble with the buttons, my hands trembling on their own accord. What am I doing? I should just call for a nurse and have her handle this. Nevertheless, I watch my hands unbutton the first button, and then the second, the fabric moving apart to reveal fair flesh. Did Jay ever go out into the sun?  
  
"Can you breathe better?" I ask, my eyes flickering over to his IV line. It doesn't look as if he's messed up the IV.  
  
"Yes.thank you." He still sounds short of breath, but not as wheezing as before.  
  
"I'll roll you back over," I offer.  
  
)) JUUNANA ((  
  
"Yes please." Anything for His touch, His cool, comforting touch. I feel His strong hands gently grasp my shoulders and flip me once more, so that I'm on my back, staring sightlessly towards the ceiling. "Thanks." It's still very hot, but at least now I can breathe. "Could.could I have some water?"  
  
"Sure, one second." A moment later, His hand is propping my head up and the cool rim of a water glass is pressed against my lips, the ice-cold water splashing lightly against my chapped lips. I enjoy the feel of the cold water as it runs down my parched throat, soothing the dryness. Once I've drunk my full, I wave a hand to inform Him.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"It's no problem at all. Do you want me to call the nurse now?"  
  
)) TRUNKS ((  
  
I smile as Jay makes a face, his sightless eyes rolling in disdain.  
  
"If you must," he finally drawls, no longer trembling. His face isn't as flushed as before, though his cheeks still reveal a faint redness that tells me he's still running a fever. Still smiling, I press the button by his bed to call for a nurse. Hopefully she will come soon...  
  
(To be continued..) 


	6. Chapter Five: Tranquilize

(A warning, which I will type in uppercase letters so you cannot say you weren't forewarned, or missed it.  
  
WARNING. THIS STORY CONTAINS GRAPHIC YAOI. YAOI IS MALE/MALE SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS. LONG AND SHORT, THERE WILL BE GAY GUYS KISSING IN THIS STORY. AND MAYBE MORE, DEPENDING ON THE WAY THE STORY GOES. AKA, THERE MAY BE SEX IN THIS STORY, GUY/GUY.  
  
IF YOU DO NOT ENJOY READING YAOI STORIES, OR IT IS AGAINST YOUR RELIGION, PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS STORY. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING. REMEMBER: YAOI IS MALE/MALE SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS.  
  
Also, if there is a signal that says, oh, let's say:  
  
)) GOKU ((  
  
that means that it has changed to Goku's POV. Understood? When it does:  
  
)) JUUNANA ((  
  
it has changed back to Juunana. Okie dokie. Any confusion over that, just tell me in your review and I'll try to explain it. Thanks.  
  
Good bye, and please enjoy. Thank you. ~Cinaed)  
  
Stolen Breath  
  
Chapter Five: Tranquilize  
  
)) JUUNANA ((  
  
The nurses here are just as bad as the doctors. What does the idiot want to do? Sedate me! I will not be sedated! Never!  
  
"Go to hell," I growl in the direction of the nurse, my tone thick with fury. "You're not sedating me!"  
  
"Sir, you're running a fever high enough to cause delirium. You're in no condition to argue with me." The nurse sounds insistent. Annoying wench. "Your parents aren't here to concede, but seeing as you told Mr. Briefs here that you're eighteen, we don't need their permission." Damn. For a second I'm almost angry at Him, but the thought is quickly brushed aside. He was only doing what He thought was right.  
  
"You're not drugging me, whore. Take one step closer to me with a needle and I'll kill you," I promise, a warning hiss in my pitch.  
  
"Excuse me?" The nurse sounds affronted. Good.  
  
)) TRUNKS ((  
  
My parents file in along with several doctors and nurses, and I have to hide my annoyance. Why do they have to come now?  
  
"Trunks, what's going on?" my mother asks me, her eyes wide.  
  
I shrug. "They want to sedate Jay and he-"  
  
"GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU BASTARDS!" Jay's roar makes me wince, and my father raise an eyebrow. "IF YOU THINK YOU'RE DRUGGING ME, YOU'VE GOT ANOTHER THING COMING!"  
  
"Mr. Jay, please!" comes the voice of a nurse, sounding slightly frightened. "You shouldn't wave your arms around like that-look, you've ripped your IV out again.."  
  
"LIKE HELL I'LL STOP. YOU ASSHOLES THINK YOU CAN TRANQUALIZE ME? I'LL KILL YOU ALL BEFORE YOU CAN CALL FOR SECURITY!"  
  
The smirk on my father's face widens as the frown on my mother's face deepens.  
  
"Um. Security?" comes the weak call of the same nurse. "We have a problem here.."  
  
"Damn right you have a problem." Jay's voice is lowered to a dangerous tone. "I may be blind, but that won't stop me from snapping all of your necks."  
  
"Mr. Jay!"  
  
"DON'T MOVE! Stupid bitch, don't think I won't follow through with my promises. I SAID, DON'T MOVE! I, J-" My head feels as if it's about to explode, and I interrupt him.  
  
"Jay?"  
  
)) JUUNANA ((  
  
I pause in mid-tirade, realizing how close I've come to revealing myself. "Y-yes, Trunks?"  
  
"Could you please shut up? I have a horrible headache.." The plaintive note in His voice hits me like a punch to the stomach.  
  
"Sorry. Of course I w- SHIT! YOU BITCH!" Something's piercing my flesh and I know it's a needle.  
  
"Got him sir!" That damn little bitch..  
  
"You.little." Already I feel the drugs taking effect, and I sink back onto my bed, my limbs turning to jelly. "I'll.kill.you."  
  
)) TRUNKS ((  
  
"You'll wake up soon, Jay," I call out as reassuringly as I can. "Don't worry."  
  
"Little." comes the slurred response of my roommate. ".bitch. Trunks.."  
  
"Good night, Jay," I say softly, and there is no reply.  
  
)) JUUNANA ((  
  
Trunks's name is the last word that falls from my lips before the drugs take complete control of me. That horrible darkness closes in on me as I hear His quiet reply, and then everything is darkness and loneliness.  
  
)) TRUNKS ((  
  
I listen, hoping for a last reply, but there is none, and slowly the nurses and doctors file from the room, leaving me with my parents and an unconscious Jay.  
  
"Your friend seems.interesting," my mother manages to comment after a couple minutes of silence. Vegeta simply continues to smirk, though I can tell he agrees a little with Mom.  
  
"He's a character," I agree, nodding a little as my headache slowly eases. "He's nice once you get to know him."  
  
"Well, he certainly shut up once you asked him to," Bulma comments.  
  
"Yeah, and look where that got him," I cannot help but mutter, frowning at the nurse's deception. "A nice tranquilizer in him."  
  
"Well, on the plus side, he'll get rid of some of these damn nurses when he wakes up," Vegeta murmurs, earning a dirty look from my mother.  
  
"The nurses are psycho. They smile all the time," I add, shrugging towards Bulma. "Even when saying stuff like, 'Oh, you have a concussion.' They're very insane. They're the ones who need to be sedated."  
  
Any further conversation is interrupted by a beaming nurse bustling in and only proving my point.  
  
)) JUUNANA ((  
  
The darkness.. It is as if I'm dead again. All I have are my thoughts. No sensations, only utter night that surrounds me and hides any memory of light from me. I strain to recall His face, remember His bright smile, but all I can think of is the darkness, the way it seems endless. I labor to wake and get away from the darkness, but no avail.  
  
I can't breathe, and there is an abrupt sensation. Pain. My lungs are burning, and I cannot take in any oxygen. My mouth opens to breathe-but there is no mouth and there isn't any air, and all there is, is the darkness.  
  
)) TRUNKS ((  
  
The nurse is checking my temperature when the soft whimpers begin, turning everyone's head towards the sheet blocking Jay's bed from us. The nurse actually frowns, looking puzzled.  
  
"He should be out cold," she murmurs, before bustling over to the other side. Yet the whimpers continue, pained and terrified sounding.  
  
"Jay?" I can't help but call, my heart suddenly pounding in my chest. The only reply is another faint whimper, and my palms begin to sweat. "What's that tranquilizer doing to him?!"  
  
)) JUUNANA ((  
  
My entire body which somehow exists for pain but nothing else is afire with agony. My lungs are ablaze, and every nerve in my body screams for release. I have to open my eyes to another type of darkness, another type in which I can picture Him and be safe-  
  
The darkness is shifting now. Somehow, even though everything is utterly black, I know it's surrounding me, dragging me farther away from Trunks.  
  
Have to fight. I have to stay with Him until He's out of the hospital.  
  
)) TRUNKS ((  
  
As the soft whimpers grow louder and hold more hurt and panic, I struggle from my bed, tugging the IV along to peek around the curtain. The nurse is bending over Jay, looking anxious as she feels his forehead. The unconscious boy frowns, tossing this way and that on his bed, the whimpers escaping his lips, which are pale with pain.  
  
"Jay?" I whisper softly, pushing the nurse aside with much effort and leaning over the trembling young man, effectively blocking him from the sight of my parents, who I can tell are glancing around the curtain now.  
  
)) JUUNANA ((  
  
Wait. Amidst the pain, I hear something. A voice..  
  
Him?  
  
No, impossible. Why would He be in my nightmares?  
  
Yet there the voice calls again, the darkness shying away from the soft call of my name so that the pain in my chest gradually eases.  
  
I open my eyes.  
  
)) TRUNKS ((  
  
His eyes gaze blankly into my face, but he seems awake, for he whispers my name, sounding incredulous. My motions automatic, I take his warm hand in mine, patting the heated flesh.  
  
"It looks like the nurses gave you the wrong type of tranquilizer," I cannot help but comment, continuing to pat his hand, which still trembles a little in mine.  
  
)) JUUNANA ((  
  
I attempt to smile, all too aware of His cool flesh against mine.  
  
"I guess so," I say, although I know it's really because tranquilizers don't affect androids that long. After all, we aren't all that human anymore. I close my eyes for a moment, because the unseen light is making my eyes throb. "Shouldn't.shouldn't you be in bed?"  
  
He laughs a melodic sound that makes me weakly smile. "I only have a concussion, Jay. All they're going to make me do is rest, so if I can screw up their plans every now and then, I'm quite willing to."  
  
In the momentary silence which follows, I can hear the nurse's indignant huff.  
  
Smiling, I don't open my eyes but reply nonetheless. "Have you gotten any sleep in the past few hours?"  
  
"Not really," He admits after a moment, and I can almost sense His shrug and amused grin. "I'll make it up when I go home."  
  
Home. My smiles slips from my lips. Ah yes, soon He will be back at Capsule Corp, and I will be stuck here in the hospital with these insane nurses and doctors. I stay silent.  
  
)) TRUNKS ((  
  
The fact that his smile is gone is all too obvious to me, and I cease my patting, instead taking his hand in mine.  
  
"You have to have parents, or at the very least family that will be willing to put you up for a bit while the doctors run tests," I attempt to assure him, and again that harsh, bitter laugh.  
  
"I'm not subjecting my sister to-" He stops dead, an almost horrified look flitting across his face.  
  
"You have a sister?" I latch onto the fact, and his lips twist into an unpleasant look.  
  
"She's married, and even has a kid. I'm not going to bother her," was his flat reply, his tone making me think he doesn't care for his sister's husband.  
  
"If she's your sister, then she wouldn't mind taking care of you if it's for a couple weeks," I insist. "What's her name?"  
  
)) JUUNANA ((  
  
"I'm not telling you." I know my tone's rebellious, to Him of all people, but I can't tell Him Juhachi's name. Especially not while the nurse is here. After all, Juhachi is definitely not a normal name. "Go get some sleep, Trunks."  
  
I hear Him sigh, and then His hands are no longer gripping mine. "First, do you want some water?"  
  
I'm thirsty, but I want Him to get some rest. "I will once you have at least thirty minutes of sleep," I inform Him, hoping for a smile, unseen though it might be.  
  
)) TRUNKS ((  
  
I smile, a weak one, but a smile nonetheless.  
  
"All right, I'm going, I'm going. Try and get some sleep yourself, Jay." The other boy doesn't reply as I return to my side of the room, where my mother is attempting to look innocent and my father wears an indescribable look on his face.  
  
I sigh. This is definitely a long day..  
  
(To be continued.) 


	7. Chapter Six: Landslide

(Author's Thanks: Lime, Coolbou, and DarkSerapha for reviewing.  
  
If there is a signal that says, oh, let's say:  
  
)) GOKU ((  
  
that means that it has changed to Goku's POV. Understood?  
  
Okie dokie. Any confusion over that, just tell me in your review and I'll try to explain it. Thanks.  
Good bye, and please enjoy. Thank you. ~Cinaed)  
  
Chapter Six: Landslide  
  
)) JUUNANA ((  
  
I listen until Trunks' breathing evens out, signaling that He is asleep.. A smile of satisfaction is probably on my face, but at the moment I don't care. He's asleep and getting better, and that's all that matters at the moment.  
  
I close my sightless eyes as I hear Bulma murmur something to Vegeta before her light footsteps indicate her exit of the room. I relax against my pillow, waiting for His father to leave after his wife. Instead, Vegeta speaks, his voice carrying the shocking words to my incredulous ears.  
  
"You're not a very good actor, Juunana, even if you are good at hiding."  
  
I am mute, unable to believe that Vegeta's figured it out. I hear the shifting of the curtains as he steps through into my side of the room. I make no movement to hide my visage from him, instead raising it towards the Saiya-jinn.  
  
"How did you know it was me?"  
  
I know he's smirking in that arrogant way of his as he speaks. "Well, you're obviously not dead and yet I could sense no ki from you. Not to mention Trunks called you Jay."  
  
"All right, I'm damn awful at being put on the spot. Trunks asked my name.. All I could come up with was Jay."  
  
Vegeta snorts. "Have Kakarrot's and Shortie's brats seen you yet?"  
  
It's my turn to snort. "Hell no. I plan on keeping it that way, thank you very much. And I'm gone as soon as I can get out of here. Though these damn doctors are such idiots that I have a feeling I'm going to stuck here for a while."  
  
)) VEGETA ((  
  
My arms are folded against my chest as I raise an eyebrow. I know he's truly blind, for his eyes have been gazing over my shoulder this entire time.  
  
"So you don't want to meet your sister's brat?"  
  
A look of almost pain crosses the android's face before he shakes his head in a quick, certain movement. "No. I don't want to see Juhachi, Marron, or Krillin.." His voice lowers at the final name and an almost hateful sneer crosses his visage.  
  
I cannot help but agree with him on that sentiment. Krillin, that doddering, meddlesome, loyal former monk who has always been so damn pleasant.. It has been sickening in the past, and it still is.  
  
"Very well then," I respond, noting the look of relief on his face, "I will not tell them you're here."  
  
"Thanks, Vegeta. I owe you." His blank eyes are still gazing past my shoulder, an unsettling sensation when one thinks about the power and cocky gleam that had once lit his sapphire gaze.  
  
"As long as you make sure my brat doesn't hurt himself anymore than he already has. How the hell a Saiya-jinn managed to get a concussion from falling down I'll never know.." Even as my irritated grumble trails off, a smirk flits across his lips.  
  
)) JUUNANA ((  
  
I cannot help but be amused by Vegeta's complaint. "I promise to watch out for him," I find myself promising, although I know that vow was already made when I first laid eyes upon the sparkling brightness that was Trunks Briefs nearly ten years ago.  
  
// I shifted restlessly on the porch after my fist had made a rather conspicuous dent in the white door of my sister's house. A frown toyed with my lips as I mentally went over what I would say.  
  
'Juhachi, I'm sorry, but I'm leaving. I'm obviously not needed, and with Juroku off at a monastery, I have no reason to hang around. I wish you, your husband, and your daughter all the luck in the world. Don't worry about me; I'm just off to have fun.'  
  
Those very words were penned on a crumpled note I clenched in my other hand just in case I lost my nerve. My attention focused on the door as I heard bright laughter of a child and the pounding of hasty feet upon the wooden floor. The door was thrown open, and I found myself gazing down into a pair of intelligent blue eyes.  
  
The young boy looked quizzical as he tilted his head and declared in a tone of disappointment, "You're not Goten." A stray lock of lavender fell in front of his eyes, but the nine-year-old ignored it as he demanded an answer from me.  
  
I blinked, caught off guard by the innocence in that gaze. This child needed to be protected, adored.. He needed to be happy. "Um, I'm Juhachi's brother. Is she home?"  
  
The boy immediately grinned and bobbed his head up and down. "Marron's mom is busy cooking. Wanna come in?"  
  
"Um, no thank you," I murmured absently, wondering why I wanted so badly to keep that bright smile on his inquisitive face. "Could you give her this note?"  
  
His curious gaze fell upon the crumpled note that I offered to him, and he looked proud that I had appointed him such an important task. "Okay! Are you sure you don't wanna come in? We've having cake for Marron's eighth birthday!"  
  
"It's her birthday?" The surprised question escaped my lips unchecked, and the young boy looked bewildered.  
  
"You're Marron's uncle and you dunno it's her birthday?" His nose wrinkled in a childish fashion as he declared, "You're not a good uncle, are you?"  
  
"No," I admitted, smirking a little. "I'm rather hopeless at it. How old are you?"  
  
"I'm almost ten!" he informed me, pride obvious as he stuck out his chest and beamed. "My name's Trunks."  
  
"You're Bulma and Vegeta's son?"  
  
"Yeah!" was exclaimed enthusiastically when a voice called out from within the house.  
  
"Trunks, who are you talking to?"  
  
Those innocent blue eyes rolled at the protective tone Bulma used before he grinned impishly at me and turned to holler into the house, "Marron's uncle, Mom!"  
  
By the time he turned back, I was gone, soaring into the clear blue skies and wondering why my heart had lurched so at the sight of the half Saiya- jinn. //  
  
"Your sister worries about you constantly." Vegeta informs me quietly of the fact though I note he doesn't sound too upset about my sister's worrying. Not that I mind.  
  
"I told her I'd be fine, didn't I?" I declare, a note of irritation slipping into my voice.  
  
"Yes, and now you're sitting in a hospital bed, completely blind."  
  
)) VEGETA ((  
  
At Juunana's wince, I know I've scored a point. I smirk, knowing he can't see it. After a moment, however, he looks almost wistful. "I might get my sight back. After all, it wasn't a mental condition. I just, well, nearly crushed my own skull." The look on his face made me bite back the question of how that had almost happened.  
  
"Where have you been for the last seven years?" I question at last, watching his face closely for any sign of lying.  
  
A wan smirk flickers across his pallid face before he replies, his tone slightly sardonic. "Would you believe me if I said I've been in Satan City this entire time?"  
  
)) JUUNANA ((  
  
Vegeta is silent for a long moment, before he laughs suddenly. "Somehow, I think you're enough of an asshole to do that, Juunana, having your sister worry over you traveling the world when you're in the same city you've always been."  
  
Another smirk forms on my lips. "Exactly." I pause, and inquire carefully, "Trunks gave Juhachi my note, right?"  
  
"Yes, and he pouted all day about the 'man with cool eyes' who had left without saying good-bye to him."  
  
I blinked, knowing my expression was one of surprise. "He-he liked my eyes?" In my years of wandering, no one had ever liked my eyes. They had said the azure orbs were filled with too much death, too much arrogance, too much emptiness. But He had liked my eyes?  
  
"That's what I just said, isn't it?"  
  
"He liked my eyes.."  
  
)) VEGETA ((  
  
My eyes narrow at the wondering, dreamy tone Juunana is using and at the brilliant smile that lights his exhausted visage and makes him seem his old self again. Something Krillin rambled to me a long time ago tugs at my memory banks, making me scowl. There is something not quite right here, but I cannot quite figure out what.  
  
"Yes, he said they were cool and filled with mysterious things, whatever the hell that means."  
  
His blind eyes fill with emotion at my words, and he grins instead of smirks. "Trunks is one in a million," he murmurs, more to himself than to me.  
  
As I continue to frown as unease fills my senses, the idiotic monk's words finally come back to me.  
  
// "Vegeta." I turned to scowl at the blundering shrimp, and he blanched a little but continued on. "Juhachi was wondering if you could help everyone look for Juunana. He's been missing for a few weeks now, and she's terribly worried."  
  
I snorted, folding my arms against my chest. "No."  
  
"What?" The monk looked thunderstruck that I had refused to help him.  
  
"I don't care about your wife's brother, and besides, if he doesn't want to be found, he's not going to be found. He's an android, remember?"  
  
"But-but you have to help us!"  
  
I raised an eyebrow and smirked at him. "Give me one reason why."  
  
"Because if you don't and he dies before we hide him, he'll go to Hell and it'll be your fault for not helping us." His desperate claim caught me off guard, and I blinked before scowling once more.  
  
"Why the hell would he go to Hell? The only person he actually killed was Gero, and we all applauded him. Besides, I was allowed to go to Heaven, and look at /my/ past.."  
  
"You don't understand. When Gero made Juhachi, Juroku, and Juunana into androids, he unknowingly destroyed their souls. The only way for them to regain their souls and gain admittance into Heaven is to fall in love and be loved in return. Juhachi fell in love with me and I returned that love so she recovered her soul. Juroku fell in love with nature and nature loved him back so he salvaged his soul. Juunana doesn't have anyone to love!"  
  
"Maybe he'll find someone to love when he's out wandering the world," I snapped, startled at the intensity of Krillin's words. Why did he want to help Juunana out so badly? It wasn't like the android liked the monk-in fact, Juunana had hated Krillin from the moment they had met.  
  
"Maybe," stated the black-haired man, but there was a doubtful tone in his voice. "But the thing is, Juunana doesn't know how to regain his soul. He probably thinks he's damned forever. /That's/ why he disappeared."  
  
"Can't he find just anyone to love him?" Despite myself, I found myself slightly interested in the android's plight.  
  
"No. It hasn't to be a certain someone. There has to be this spark, this affinity. When I first laid eyes upon Juhachi, I couldn't keep from staring into her beautiful blue eyes. There was something in her cold gaze that hinted at a tender heart within, something that if I tried hard enough I could get to.." The monk's words had trailed off, and I snorted at the dreamy look on his face. //  
  
With a start, I realize that the dreamy look on Krillin's face was identical to the one on Juunana's visage. All color drains from my face at the implications.  
  
No..  
  
My son cannot be the one that Juunana has to love in order to recapture his soul. My son is a half Saiya-jinn, one of the last of his race. He can't, won't love an android.  
  
Not if I have anything to say about it, that is.  
  
- TBC - 


End file.
